1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and more particularly to such a cleaning apparatus which is particularly well suited to the cleaning of containers bearing paint, lacquer and the like affording the capabilities of precisely and dependably grasping and retaining containers within the apparatus during cleaning, rapidly removing substances in a preliminary cleaning action where they have hardened or are otherwise particularly difficult to remove, and exhausting toxic, flammable, or explosive fumes from the apparatus so as to reduce the risks involved to an absolute minimum.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
In cleaning devices of a variety of types, it is frequently difficult securely and precisely to position the object to be cleaned relative to the cleaning mechanism. Where precise positioning is not achieved, inadequate cleaning results and in some cases damage to the objects and/or to the cleaning mechanism result. In such devices, it is often necessary in order to avoid this problem laboriously to position and to align the object to be cleaned with the cleaning mechanism. This is both tedious and inefficient and frequently results in the operator simply accepting improper positioning. In other instances, the substances to be removed from the object adhere tenaciously to the surface making cleaning both difficult and time consuming. Still another difficulty encountered in the use of prior art devices is that of minimizing the risk of injury particularly where hazardous cleaning solvents are employed.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a cleaning apparatus permitting the rapid, dependable and precise alignment of objects to be cleaned with the cleaning mechanism, permitting the object to be held in such precise alignment during the cleaning operation, affording the capability of loosening or removing substances which have hardened into position; and reducing to an absolute minimum the risk of injury to operators of such equipment even where hazardous solvents are employed.